BucsBlitz.com in Celebration

Matthew Postins

07/26/2007

BucsBlitz.com's Matthew Postins is in Celebration for the arrival of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for training camp on Thursday. His blog will be updated throughout the day as players and coaches arrive for camp and talk about the upcoming season.

We're in Celebration

Time: 11:55 a.m.

BucsBlitz.com Buccaneers expert Matthew Postins is in Celebration outside Orlando for the arrival of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for training camp 2007. Check here for updates all day on when everyone's arriving, what players and coaches are saying and if anyone's not showing up (three draft picks are unsigned as of this writing).

The team bus will be leaving Tampa at noon for the team hotel, and other players will be arriving via their own cars.

We'll keep you updated throughout the day.

The fans are here

Time: 12:15 p.m.

About 20 fans have staked out a shaded area near the entrance to the team hotel here in Celebration, waiting for their favorite Bucs. They might be waiting a while.

On a related note, head coach Jon Gruden will be speaking later in the day, and general manager Bruce Allen may not arrive until Friday morning, depending on contract negotiations with Gaines Adams, Arron Sears and Sabby Piscitelli.

And, in case you're wondering, no Jake Plummer or Daunte Culpepper.

They start filtering in

Time: 12:20 p.m.

A few players have arrived. It's believed that running back Earnest Graham was the first to arrive, but no one in the press corps can confirm that.

The first player that I saw arrive that I could recognize was 6-foot-9 offensive lineman Dennis Roland. He arrived with another player.

Adams is signed and sealed

Time: 12:53 p.m.

Gaines Adams, the Buccaneers' first-round draft pick has signed his contract and arrived at the team hotel in Celebration at 12:53 p.m.

Gaines Adams can't seem to figure out what the big deal is about the heat. The first-round pick will go through his first NFL two-a-day workout on Friday, and he keeps getting questions about dealing with the heat. Apparently everyone forgot that he went to Clemson.

"You know it gets pretty hot in Clemson," Adams said. "We did two-a-days there. I'm not worried about the heat. The only thing I have to get used to is the humidity."

Adams spoke after arriving at the team hotel, his first press conference since signing his six-year contract.

We'll always have Paris

Time: 1:46 p.m.

Wide receiver Paris Warren arrived to a few muted cheers. Warren's job is on the line this year, as he's trying to prove he's still worth a roster spot.

Adam will be popular

Time: 1:48 p.m.

Sixth-round pick Adam Hawyard arrived — I think — with fellow rookie linebacker Quincy Black. Hayward's a smart rookie. Among his belongings was a portable fridge. Nice to see him put the signing bonus to work.

I see this guy being real popular when someone needs a cold Gatorade at 3 a.m.

Who?

Time: 1:50 p.m.

The bad thing about training camp is, even with a media guide, it's hard to determine who some of these guys are. And when you ask someone with the Bucs, they sometimes don't know, either.

"That's a good question," a member of the PR staff told me when I asked him about a particular player signing autographs.

Other arrivals

Time: 1:55 p.m.

The faucet on player arrivals is starting to open. Torrie Cox — who will miss the first four games due to a NFL suspension if he makes the roster — gave a quick wave to the crowd when he arrived. Defensive tackle Darrell Campbell had a smile on his face as he rode up in a golf cart.

And Luke McCown? The fourth-string quarterback apparently had to walk from the parking lot to the hotel. It's a short walk, but everyone else is getting rides in golf carts. I mean, Darrell Campbell got a ride. Why can't McCown?

It's getting busy

Time: 2:15 p.m.

Among the players to arrive in the last 15 minutes — Jeremy Trueblood, Kenneth Darby, Tanard Jackson, Will Allen, Jeb Terry and Kalvin Pearson. At least Terry — who's job is on the line this training camp — stopped to sign autographs.

I also spotted special teams coach Richard Bisaccia greeting Terry at the hotel entrance.

Hovan's here

Time: 2:30 p.m.

Defensive tackle Chris Hovan doesn't stand on ceremony, apparently. While most of the players were taking golf carts from the parking lot to the hotel, Hovan just walked up the sidewalk path to where the media was camped out.

Genial as always, Hovan signed autographs for the fans at the hotel and then spoke briefly to the media, the first player to stop in the hot sun to talk to us.

He's ready to get started.

"I think she (my wife) was ready to get rid of me," Hovan joked.

He was also thrilled to here that Adams had signed.

"He needs to be here," Hovan said. "He needs to get used to the pace of this game."

And while Hovan spoke, executive vice president Joel Glazer arrived and signed autographs. Is there a big market for Glazer-signed Bucs memorabilia?

Bathroom break

Time: 2:40 p.m.

Yes, I went to the bathroom. And it's a production at the Hotel Celebration, a well-appointed four-star facility.

The media is stationed in a conference room outside the lobby of the hotel. But we don't' have a bathroom. The nearest one is off the far side of the lobby from our room.

But we're not allowed in the lobby, and that's where the bathroom is. So the public relations staff — in what is perhaps their most thankless task — must escort us from the conference room to the bathroom and back when we need to go.

Comically, I had a different PR person escort me to the bathroom and from the bathroom on this occasion.

I suppose this beats the 70 cents Euro I had to pay to use the bathroom at the Florence train station each day during my Italian vacation in May.

There's a slim chance defensive end Greg Spires won't make the final roster, but I really don't think that will happen. But he is sporting a new look — a full beard he's been growing since March.

He said he had no real reason for growing the beard, but he did reveal that his daughter, Leila, arrived in March.

Coincidence? Maybe Greg could use the three-week break.

Alstott to speak

Time: 3:10 p.m.

Mike Alstott has arrived and will be speaking to the media soon.

On the radio

Time: 3:15 p.m.

I'll be making my first Tampa-area radio appearance at around 5:40 p.m. today on WHBO-AM 1470 on the Scot Brantley show. Listen in if you're driving home from work.

Galloway and Alstott speak

Time: 3:50 p.m.

Who knew Joey Galloway had a sense of humor?

He pretty much blew me away with a witty, funny 15-minute press conference when he arrived at Celebration.

And, believe me, he's not necessarily happy to be at training camp.

"Getting excited about training camp is like getting excited about going to the dentist," Galloway said, among his funnier comments.

Alstott saw the final parts of Galloway's press conference and was asked about Gallwoway's comments about training camps and dentistry.

"That's why I don't go to the dentist," Alstott said.

On the quarterbacks (that aren't here)

Time: 4:30 p.m.

Jon Gruden just got done speaking and he commented on both Jake Plummer and Daunte Culpepper:

On Plummer, whom he met with in Idaho between mini-camp and training camp: "Jake's not here. (General manager) Bruce (Allen) will answer that later. We did try to look into it. We exhausted enough effort there to make it fair. But he's not here. It doesn't mean he won't be here."

On Culpepper: "Daunte was in Tampa and so was I and damned if I was going to let him fly out without seeing him. We've looked into him. Nothing is imminent. Nothing is concrete."

Don't get your hopes up. I don't believe either is coming, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Final entry

Time: 4:45 p.m.

The deadline to report is 6 p.m., and Gruden said he believes all 87 players will be at the hotel by then. That includes Arron Sears, the second round pick who has not signed yet. Neither has safety Sabby Piscitelli.

Watch for updates throughout the night at BucsBlitz.com on those signings and a lot more from what happened today in Celebration.